The internet erupted again, but this time, everyone felt bad for Rice Cake, and the tide in the comments had turned completely.
[Holy crap, how is hx this ridiculous? They made him wait that long, then happily clocked out without telling him the interviews were over?]
[It's not that bad. The supervisor was the main problem. The higher-ups at hx had a pretty decent attitude and offered compensation right away. Another company might've just brushed it off.]
[Rice Cake was clearly the one who got screwed over, yet 05 Bro had the nerve to say he got pushed out. Didn't someone say before that 05 Bro had connections with that supervisor? It all fits now.]
[Good riddance to 05 Bro. His backdoor deal blew up in his face, and the other guy didn't even make a fuss, but he started playing the victim first.]
[Bravo. That little green worm has lowered the bar yet again. Truly the most shameless person on the internet.]
[Instead of lying low after screwing up, he went around stirring up trouble and blaming everyone else. Remembering how he led a whole mob into cyberbullying Rice Cake makes me sick. What a piece of trash.]
[Oh my god, Nian Bao got to the company just after nine in the morning and actually waited until almost six. Qinggang is awful. How could he mess with him like that?]
[That Assistant Su had such a nasty attitude. Nian Bao sounded like he was about to cry from frustration. And I feel like what he said meant he'd figured something out. Sob, thank goodness he was smart enough to record it.]
[A little off topic, but this recording proves the streamer really doesn't use a voice changer. That's what he sounds like in real life too!]
These comments slowly accumulated in the middle of the night, while Yu Nian went to bed right after posting.
When Yu Nian went to class during the day, Bian Yan handed him his phone to look at.
Yu Nian took a look and saw that the post he had made in the early hours had been pushed onto the trending list, with over ten thousand comments already.
Bian Yan and Fang Xu had both heard something about what had happened over the past two days. They did not know how to help Yu Nian, so they had kept speaking up for him online and arguing with plenty of haters.
Seeing public opinion gradually turn in his favor naturally made Bian Yan happy.
"Most of the comments are speaking up for you now, and lots of people have gone to curse out Qinggang too," Bian Yan said through gritted teeth. "That bastard spends all day doing utterly despicable things."
Yu Nian smiled faintly. "As long as it's cleared up. As for Qinggang, I'm not going to let him get away with it."
Yu Nian had already contacted Assistant Yin to collect evidence of Qinggang inciting others to cyberbully him, and he had reported it to the police yesterday.
And so, today, alongside the growing discussion of Yu Nian's clarification post, the police notice announcing Qinggang's detention spread even further.
With solid evidence that Qinggang had spread false rumors, the platform immediately banned all his accounts.
Although it had not affected Yu Nian too badly, the conduct was malicious and the controversy had grown considerable, so the police chose to publish an incident report online, both to put the matter to rest and to deter others who were itching to try something.
Not only would Qinggang be detained, he also had to post an apology online and pay Yu Nian compensation for emotional distress, among other things. He had lost both his dignity and his reputation.
Everyone who had supported him fell silent for a time.
However, Assistant Yin's side had already collected information on those who had led the abuse and spread rumors about Yu Nian. Even if they deleted their accounts, they could still be tracked down. They would all be sued as well, and each would have to apologize to Yu Nian.
Later, other streamers began coming forward one after another to talk about their impressions of Qinggang that day. In short, none were good.
Although some were suspected of chasing clout, everyone treated it as entertainment anyway.
One streamer also mentioned how Qinggang had once mistaken him for Rice Cake. That streamer had not signed with Sea Star and had gone to another site instead.
But he was still angry when he brought up what had happened that day. He said Qinggang had provoked him first, had a terrible temper, and had looked ready to start a fight in the waiting room. As netizens spread the story, it prompted another round of criticism of Qinggang's character.
Of course, someone else said he had been the second-to-last streamer interviewed that day. He had not known Rice Cake at the time, and only after reading Rice Cake's account of what had happened did he realize that was who the other streamer had been.
That livestream drew a great deal of attention, especially from Rice Cake's fans.
The fans felt bad about all the unfair treatment Rice Cake had suffered, while also growing curious about what he looked like.
Seeing that he had something to talk about, and knowing how well-liked Rice Cake was among the general public now, the streamer spared no effort in praising him. He had not interacted much with Rice Cake, but his appearance alone gave him plenty to talk about.
Some people thought he was exaggerating, but the streamer was even more eager to defend Rice Cake than Rice Cake himself, insisting that he really was that good-looking and that he had not exaggerated at all.
The uproar continued for several days, and quite a few streamers gained a wave of followers by criticizing Qinggang. Netizens jokingly called it profiting off Qinggang's downfall.
As for Yu Nian, the victim in all this, he not only earned people's sympathy but also let more people see his personal charm. After all, who wouldn't like a streamer who was usually gentle and witty, yet could handle trouble calmly and hit back without using a single swear word?
Not to mention the online rumors that he attended the same school as Minghe's young heiress, went to a prestigious university, was good-looking, and kept a low profile.
Yu Nian's follower count passed five hundred thousand that very night and even kept soaring toward six hundred thousand.
Startled, Yu Nian asked his viewers during his livestream, "Which one of you bought me followers?"
The chat burst into laughter.
[New fan reporting in! I've watched loads of your videos lately, and I love you so much. These aren't bought followers.]
But a second later, they heard Yu Nian say, "If you were going to buy them, why didn't you buy more? Getting me up to a million would've been great."
The new fans were dumbfounded.
Wasn't he supposed to be the most sincere, hardworking streamer on the entire internet?
[The new fans are still confused. The old fans have already started laughing.]
[Yes, exactly, we bought you three hundred thousand followers! And they were all free /heart/heart]
[Wait, we're past five hundred thousand? Streamer, face reveal, face reveal!]
[Aaaaaah, turn on your camera! I want to see a hot guy!]
Faced with the chat's fervent demands, Yu Nian broke out in a sweat.
He said awkwardly, "It's not that I don't want to. I just didn't know I'd reach five hundred thousand followers so soon. I thought it would take another year."
"So... I haven't bought a webcam."
[?]
[I'm dying. Could you be any more of a cheapskate?]
[New fan here, shocked. I thought Nian Bao was a gentle, quiet pretty boy. Is this what he's actually like? Hahaha.]
[Hahahaha, staying true to his image.]
[Help, Nian Bao, how are you this cute?!]
Yu Nian felt a little apologetic too and said guiltily, "I'll send everyone some cash giveaways. There are more viewers now, so I'll give out more."
[Call him generous, and he won't spend money on himself. Call him stingy, and he still remembers to give his viewers cash.]
Yu Nian sent out several cash giveaways. Even though no one could see him, his ears were still red as he said with little confidence, "I'll order one online right now. It should get here tomorrow."
Before you continue